In July 2023, Enzyvant, now Sumitomo Pharma America, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Pharma, announced an update on their Phase 2 ELEVATE 2 study of Rodatristat Ethyl for PAH. The Phase 2b study failed to lower pulmonary vascular resistance, as measured by right heart catheterization, at Week 24. Sumitomo undertook a very rigorous evaluation of Rodatristat Ethyl in PAH. This included evaluating the molecule in animal models, as well as in both single and multi-dose studies in healthy people. The structure of their Phase 2 study was excellent, incorporating the best learnings from the past ..read more

Across America a woman’s right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is under threat. Without diving into politics or religion I want to impress on the PAH community why this may spell disaster for our PAH patients. The Supreme Court is on the verge of reversing half a century of legal precedent that has protected a woman’s right to choose. At the same time, several states have passed or are about to pass laws that criminalize abortion under any circumstances. Even states that preserve access to pregnancy termination in the case that the mother’s life is in jeopardy are creating new hoops that ..read more

Pulmonary hypertension (elevated pressure within the blood vessels of the lungs) is organized into five groups: Group 1:  Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) Group 2:  Pulmonary venous hypertension (due to problems on the left side of the heart) Group 3:  Pulmonary hypertension due to lung disease Group 4:  Pulmonary hypertension due to blood clots in the lungs Group 5:  Pulmonary hypertension due to blood problems and various other causes Within group 3, there are three main sub-categories.  Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ..read more

For Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) patients who remain very short of breath despite maximal medical therapy, lung transplantation may be an option.  Maximal medical therapy usually means continuously infused therapy (Remodulin, Flolan, Veletri) and multiple oral medications.  First, it is important to know that lung transplantation is not a cure.  It is the exchange of one disease for another. The old disease is your PAH and the new lung disease is called lung transplantation.  Much like PAH, it is no cake walk.  You will have to take ..read more

Imagine going into your pantry and grabbing every spice you have and then starting to add them to your soup.  Well, this is pretty much what is happening around the world with treatment for COVID-19.  The challenge is that tens of thousands of people are dying from this disease and we don’t have a single proven therapy.  This is incredibly frustrating for doctors treating COVID and terrifying for patients and families affected by COVID.   Although the world has been in this situation before (think Ebola, SARS, MERS), the United States has not really be ..read more

When will life return to normal?  The short answer is when enough of the world is immune to COVID that we don’t have to practice the art of social distancing or we develop a widely available treatment or preventative therapy.  Herd Immunity is the concept that if enough people are immune to an infection, this prevents rapid spread in a community.  Imagine a group of 10 people.  Eight of those 10 people are immune to COVID.  If one of the two vulnerable people contracts the infection, there is only one person who could be infected.  T ..read more

Everything has changed and everything is much the same.  I went to the grocery store and there is still no toilet paper.  I was allowed to buy two loaves of bread and two dozen eggs.  No cleaning supplies and no bananas to be found.  Most people are now wearing masks, a mixture of surgical masks, homemade cloth masks and some N95 masks.  The hospital remains a quiet place.  Families are not allowed to visit.  Staff seem quieter.  Patients are still getting great care but a fog hangs over us.   For the fi ..read more

We are in the midst of the greatest health crisis since HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).  The last time the world saw a respiratory illness of this severity was in 1918 when a very aggressive strain of influenza swept across the world.  Today we are squarely in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Millions of Americans will be infected and many thousands will die.  With diligent attention to social distancing we can reduce the severity of this wave of infections.   What Can PAH Patients Do? I am asked many times each day by my PAH patients, “What can I do to protect myself?”.  The an ..read more

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, people often get advice of variable quality.  Often an article or report will get picked up by the media and be taken out of context or be misinterpreted. This can lead to people being led off the cliff of misinformation. Here are some common sense, inexpensive, and low technology ways to keep yourself safe.  You have heard this advice before. Stay at home.  Avoid going to places where you will have contact with or be in close proximity to other people.  This means that if you can avoid it, have your friends or family members get your groceries and med ..read more

Cases of COVID-19 are skyrocketing in the United States.  New York, New Jersey and New Orleans are experiencing an overwhelming number of cases and critically ill patients have filled up the hospital beds. During this time, almost every community in the country is now experiencing community spread of the infection.  This means that like influenza or the common cold, you are now at significant risk of getting the infection from another person in the community.   What Makes Coronavirus and COVID-19 Different from Influenza? Influenza can also spread quickly in communities but the attack ra ..read more